Planet of origin: Parathrox, Rigel sector
Galactic distribution: Uncommon

a typical carcharoid

BIOLOGICAL OVERVIEW

Carcharoids (as they are known to most cosmobiologists - their own word for themselves, nn'tahrr, translates unsurprisingly to the people) are a carbon-based sentient species that arose on the Class-M planet Parathrox. They are winged, bipedal, and carnivorous, with dietary requirements that are protein-compatible with the Galactic Standard.

The typical carcharoid stands between six and seven Standard feet tall, with a slightly forward-leaning posture, and weighs roughly 200 pounds. They have two arms ending in hands with four long, tapering fingers and an opposable thumb. Their feet are equipped with claws that can be used in fighting, but are primarily to give better purchase on Parathrox's typically soft, mossy ground. They have strong, flexible tails roughly half as long again as their torsos; these tails are tipped with a bony, spiky club which can be a devastating weapon. They also have two leathery wings on their upper backs, joined to their torsos on either side of a vestigial dorsal crest. A typical carcharoid's wings are not strong enough to carry the creature aloft in a Standard gravity/pressure environment (but see below), though they can be used for gliding short distances (lift-to-drag ratio approximately 7:1) or breaking falls.

Carcharoid skin is covered in hard, scale-like structures called denticles, which provide them with a degree of natural protection and give the skin an abrasive texture with a directional bias (smooth in one direction, rough in the other). Most are grey in color with dark grey or black stripes on their backs and limbs, though some individuals may be a blue-grey or even steel-blue color, and others lack stripes. Their faces feature a pointed, sharklike snout full of jagged, sharp teeth (hence the name human cosmobiologists gave the species), yellow eyes with vertical slit pupils, and no external ears. They see and hear across similar spans of frequency as humans, but their visual range is offset slightly higher (they can see into the ultraviolet but perceive red as black) and their range of hearing is slightly lower (they can hear infrasonic tones but not sounds humans would consider high-pitched).

Having evolved from aquatic creatures, carcharoids are good swimmers and can handily withstand immersion pressures to a depth of nearly 250 feet, but cannot breathe water (though they can hold their breath for up to 10 minutes). They are homeothermic with a normal core temperature of about 100° F, and can withstand a temperature range from roughly 20° F to 130° F with discomfort but no significant harm at the extremes. Their skin is sufficiently tough that carcharoids have been known to survive temporary (ca. five minutes) exposure to hard vacuum.

Carcharoids reproduce sexually and are oviparous, but do not have gender as lifeforms with mammalian antecedents understand it; any carcharoid may mate with any other, after which one or both may produce an egg. A carcharoid's egg is leathery and flexible when first laid, but hardens within 72 hours to a remarkable consistency. Fully hardened carcharoid eggs are durable enough to withstand small-arms fire and are almost indifferent to blunt force trauma. The eggs take six months to mature. When the carcharoid within is ready to emerge, a biochemical change releases an enzyme that softens the eggshell, making it a relatively simple matter for the hatchling to emerge.

Carcharoid hatchlings have the full physical capabilities of their species, apart from their small size, but are not mentally mature. Full growth is achieved within five Standard years. The species is not especially long-lived; few carcharoids live more than 70 Standard years. However, there is little deterioration due to aging prior to death, so they have little concept of old age.

Hereditary disease among carcharoids is very rare; theirs is a robust genome, battle-tested over millions of years of hard-fought survival. The only relatively common hatching defect is for an individual to lack wings. In modern carcharoid society, this is not considered noteworthy, though in earlier times wingless carcharoids were believed to have magic powers, their wings having been rescinded by the gods as payment for same. Carcharoid history is replete with viziers, shamans, inventive geniuses, and mythic sorcerers who had no wings.

There is no known scientific correlation between winglessness and any sort of exceptionalism, but, interestingly, it appears that Force-sensitive carcharoids almost always have green eyes instead of the usual yellow.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Carcharoids arose on the planet Parathrox, a Class M world orbiting the star N-301 in the coreward reaches of the Rigel sector. As with most carnivorous sapients, carcharoids evolved from predatory animals. In this case, there is considerable evidence that their forebears were, in the not-too-distant past (evolutionarily speaking), hunting fish similar to Earth sharks, hence the name they were given by the first human cosmobiologist to encounter them. Unlike Earth sharks, however, the precursors to the carcharoid species eventually made the move to land, where they developed into sophisticated social animals who preferred to hunt in packs - a far cry from the aloof, solitary nature of the typical shark.

It is believed that the first true carcharoid civilization arose about 100,000 years Before Standard Calendar. Early carcharoid history was marked by a series of brushfire wars between different proto-nations, followed by the standard period of competing empires and massive world wars, but records show that the invention of atomic explosives in 1473 SC marked a turning point, as it usually does. Some civilizations destroy themselves entirely at that point; carcharoids, it seems, saw it as a unifying incentive. Parathrox was politically unified and stable by 1650, after which space exploration began. Carcharoid scientists discovered the principle of hyperspace drive independently in 1780 and made first contact with Salusia shortly thereafter. A brief war ensued, but hostilities ended quickly, and Parathrox joined the United Galactica in 1791.

SOCIAL OVERVIEW

Carcharoid society is an egalitarian meritocracy. Social distinctions based on biological traits are almost nonexistent. They often do not know or care who their genetic parents are anyway; family bonds as humans understand them are virtually unknown among carcharoids, who identify instead with the places where they live. Carcharoid communities are tightly knit and try to be as self-sufficient as possible, while always aware of the role they play in the larger scope of civilization as a whole.

Although they evolved from predators and have little sense of family in a biological sense, carcharoids are generally neither callous nor cruel. Their social order calls for all citizens to be looked after. Physical infirmity is rare among carcharoids, thanks to their own innate resilience and the highly advanced state of their medical technology, but in cases where it does arise, it is looked upon as a misfortune, not something shameful.

Humans often find carcharoids contradictory, because although they are not cruel, they tend to enjoy violence. The phrase "martial art" has an especially literal meaning to most carcharoids, who have developed some of the most intricate and effective methods of fighting known to the galaxy. Gladiatorial combat is the most popular sport on Parathrox, but it is not the actual bloodshed the audiences (and the gladiators themselves, for that matter) relish; rather, it is the ways of battle themselves that the carcharoids consider beautiful. Bouts are rarely to the death, and then almost always only by accident. Thanks to the strength of carcharoid medicine, their gladiators may have very long and lucrative careers.

Force-sensitive carcharoids exist, and there are several martial arts that include techniques that require the Force to perform correctly. However, carcharoid civilization became spacefaring long after the Jedi Order scattered following the fall of Atlantis, so there is no Jedi tradition among them; only within the last few years have any carcharoid Force-users shown an interest in the Jedi ways. Given the carcharoid tendency toward aggression and enthusiasm, the Jedi philosophy is in many ways a bad fit for the average carcharoid, but a hardy few are giving it a go anyway, possibly with an eye toward adapting the style to their own needs and abilities.

TECHNOLOGICAL OVERVIEW

Modern carcharoids are fully integrated members of the larger galactic society, which means common technologies that can be found on Earth or Salusia are also to be found on Parathrox and the other carcharoid worlds. However, before joining galactic society, the carcharoids were already a highly advanced species, having achieved such baseline technologies as thermonuclear fusion (both as weapon and energy source), directed energy weapons, FTL hyperwave communications, and hyperspace drive on their own.

As mentioned above, carcharoid medical technology is among the finest to be found in the galaxy. Carcharoids believe in repairing body and mind through the most natural means available, which means they have little use (and little need) for bionics or robocybernetics. They excel in fields like cloning and regenerative inducement. A lost limb or organ can be replaced with a cloned part indistinguishable from the original in as little as a Standard week, with full integration and no long-term loss of function. Even individuals who are technically dead can be revived through advanced cellular stimulation techniques if applied quickly enough. Interestingly, carcharoids do not often use this technology to extend their lifespans, though they easily could; only to restore lost parts or prevent a premature death. They also rarely enhance capabilities beyond what would naturally exist. Carcharoid athletes find the concept of illegal performance enhancement baffling.

POLITICAL OVERVIEW

Modern carcharoid civilization is centered around a single monolithic polity, known locally as nn'tahrr vakhn (literally "the people together") and in Standard as the Carcharoid Union. Their homeworld, Parathrox, is the capital of the Union, which also includes six colony worlds and a number of space habitats. Total population is roughly 10 billion, of which about half live on Parathrox.

The Carcharoid Union is an elected dictatorship, with its head of state, the Supreme (nn'tahrr'hla, literally "highest person"), elected by electronic plebiscite for a term of ten years. No individual may serve two consecutive terms, though a former Supreme who has been out of office for at least one term may be elected to another. A legislature consisting of 255 members handles the day-to-day business of lawmaking, though the Supreme may override them at any time.

Despite the Supreme's almost unlimited power, carcharoid society is politically stable, and the general public enjoys many freedoms guaranteed by both constitution and long-standing tradition, including freedom of speech, a free press, and the right to travel within or leave the Union. In return, each carcharoid is expected to serve the Union in some fashion. For most, this takes the form of military reservism - nearly all able-bodied carcharoids (which, as previously noted, is pretty much everyone) are members of the Grand Army (see below) on inactive duty, and can be called up for active service in an emergency. This service may not take the form of actual armed duty, but may instead involve assignment to a military medical facility, being used as temporary upstaff for a shipyard or weapons production facility, or even membership in an entertainment battalion or military band. At emergency's end, citizens are guaranteed the right to resume their interrupted lives, remain in harness (as it were), or apply for resettlement in an entirely new role.

Although the Carcharoid Union presently remains a voting member of the United Federation of Planets, it is well-known that the Union sympathizes with the Zetan side of the much-publicized Earth/Zeta Cygni divide. The Carcharoid Senator to the Federation, Vel Satis (a former Supreme), customarily votes with the Zetan-Salusian bloc in matters concerning the main causes of contention. The Union is also a member of the Bablyon Federation and signatory to the International Police Accords.

Senator Vel Satis in his formal diplomatic headdress and d'khee

MILITARY OVERVIEW

The Grand Army of the Carcharoid Union, the nation's principal military force, serves a both defense and expeditionary force (when e.g. the Federation levies forces for galactic peacekeeping). The vast bulk of its personnel are considered inactive (see above), but its active-duty force is considerable, including a fleet of armed starships (the Space Army - carcharoids have never drawn a distinction between army and navy forces, unlike many other species) and extensive ground forces.

Active-duty carcharoid soldiers are the only members of their civilization to make extensive use of cybernetic implants and enhancile bioengineering, the better to make them more effective combatants. For instance, all are equipped with gravity-modulating implants enabling them to achieve proper powered flight (a wingless carcharoid who joins the army will be be fitted with bionic wings during his term of service). Their natural weapons are enhanced to make them useful against the armor worn by most other species, their own natural armor is likewise strengthened, and they commonly use neuroprocessor-based weapon and vehicle control systems and cybernetic sensor enhancements.

a typical carcharoid soldier (note gravity compensator)

Combat veterans who have survived a full five-year tour of duty may choose to be mustered out. In recognition of their service, these individuals are removed from the Grand Army's rolls altogether, not placed back in reserve. When mustering out, a soldier relinquishes all enhancements (though wingless veterans are permitted to keep their artificial wings, which work no better than the natural ones without the gravity modulators) and returns to society as a normal citizen. Most are glad to do this; far from feeling superior to the average citizen, most carcharoid soldiers view their enhancements as cheating. They accept it as necessary due to the fact that everyone else in the galaxy cheats, but they still don't like it.

Despite the relatively small size of the Carcharoid Union as compared with many other Federation member-states and other galactic nations, the Grand Army is generally considered a significant and powerful fighting force.

NOTABLE CARCHAROIDS

Supreme Vetev Hach
The current Supreme, elected in 2405, Vetev Hach has stated his intention to carry on the policies of his predecessor, Vel Satis (in office 2395-2405), which include maintaining a strong military presence in the coreward Rigel sector and strengthening trade relations with non-Federation states such as the Klingon and Gamilon Empires.

Federation Senator Vel Satis
As mentioned above, Senator Vel Satis is a former Supreme, a staunch supporter of the Babylon Foundation, and an ally of Zeta Cygni. Before his term as Supreme, the senator was Marshal of the Grand Army; he still has many connections within the carcharoid military and a reputation as a tough, capable commander.

Urqan Katiin
The first known carcharoid Jedi Knight, Urqan Katiin comes from the outlying carcharoid colony world Mevesta and was apprenticed to itinerant Jedi Master Shaak Ti (a togruta from Shili) in 2402, at the age of seven. He joined the reconstituted Jedi Order as a padawan learner along with his teacher in 2408 and passed his trial for knighthood the following year. Though he is considered unusually aggressive for a Jedi, preferring combat to diplomacy, his superiors in the Order hope that the fact that this aggression is natural for his species will be some measure of protection against the Dark Side.

Urqan Katiin

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thank you for using the
Babylon Project Galactic Database

also, note to self; I don't need to get Spore, I have enough timesinks already. 8P

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Lead me not to temptation, for I can find it myself.